Arthur said. "She's pretty friendly."
Jake patted Ragmop who preened and soaked up the attention. "She’s beautiful," Jake said. "What kind of dog is she?"
"She’s part Komodor and a part I don't know what. Her name is Ragmop."
"Is that the big dog with curls that look like a mop?" Jake asked. "I've read about them."
"Yes, that's the one," Arthur said.
"Hello Ragmop," Jake said rubbing the back of the dog’s ears. "I always wanted a dog, but my mom is allergic," he said wistfully.
"Some dogs are non-allergic," Arthur said.
"I’ve been telling her that for years," Jake sighed. "Hey, those were some great shots you were making. Have you ever thought about trying out for the team?" Jake had been the captain of the fourth-grade basketball team and would probably be the captain of this year’s team as well.
"I don’t know how to play. I just know how to shoot baskets," Arthur confessed.
"Learning the game is not hard," Jake said. "I could teach you. Mind if I shoot some hoops with you?" Jake wanted to be a coach when he got older, and an idea popped into his head. He could coach Arthur!
Arthur passed Jake the ball, and the two boys took turns shooting the ball until they were both sweaty and out of breath.
"You know, we need another 'Big Man' and you are taller than I am. It wouldn't take much for you to catch up with the rest of the team." Seeing Arthur’s doubtful look, Jake said, "I could help you get ready for tryouts next month."
"I’d like that," Arthur said shyly amazed that Jack was offering to help him. Jake was one of the popular guys.
"You come out here every day?" Jake asked.
"I come every school day," Arthur said.
"See you tomorrow then," Jake said giving Ragmop one last pet and picking up his bike. "Bye, Art."
"Art," Arthur liked the sound of that.
Chapter Four
Jake looked at his watch and frowned; he was late. He was supposed to go straight home from school or at least call home; he’d forgotten to do either. With any luck, his mom would be too busy to notice. Oh well, at the worst, she would ground him for a day.
Jake couldn’t help thinking about Arthur on the way home. Jake knew that a lot of kids whispered about Arthur behind his back. They called Arthur a loner and weird, but Jake knew Arthur was shy and self-conscious about his birthmark. There was no reason Arthur shouldn't play for the team. In fact, if Arthur could shoot under pressure as well as he did today, then he would be a big asset to the team. Arthur certainly had skill with the ball, and he was tall, very tall. Arthur would make a great "Big Man." All he needed was to learn the rules and to get some practice playing with a team.
A few minutes later Jake bicycled into his driveway. "Cole! What are you doing here?" he asked. Cole was Jake's big brother and a college freshman. Cole had moved into the dorms at the beginning of the school year and now only came home on weekends.
"Hey, Runt. Did you forget? I live here," Cole quipped. "By the way, you're in big trouble. Mom’s been stressing about where you've been for the last hour. Better get in there and grovel."
"I ran into a potential 'Big Man' for the team, and I forgot to call," Jake said.
"Whatever, you play and you pay. Hope the dude is worth it," Cole teased making a lazy lay-up that circled the rim of the basket finally dropping in.
Jake rolled his eyes and went inside hoping to make it to his room before encountering his mom.
"Jake! Where have you been?" His mom called from the kitchen where she was working on dinner.
"Sorry, Mom, I got distracted at the park," Jake said. "I think I found a new 'Big Man' for this year's team."
"Isn't that the coach's job?" she asked. "Nevermind, who is it?"
"The Smith kid; Arthur. You know, the one with the birthmark? You should see him shoot hoops."
"Well, I'm glad you found someone for the team, but you really should have called," she said. "You know I worry. So, you said the Smith kid? The one whose father died?"
"Yeah, He's tall, and he can shoot, but he's shy. I want him to try out for the team, so I stopped to talk to him."
Jake’s mom suddenly sneezed, "Have you been around a dog?" She asked suspiciously.
"Arthur has a dog. Its name is Ragmop. She's part Komodor and looks like a mop."
"Ugh! Dog hair! Hurry up and get a shower. Put your clothes in the laundry room and then start your homework. Let's see how much you can get done before dinner," she said sneezing a few more times.
"Okay Mom," Jake said thankful that she hadn't grounded him.
"Before you go, tell your brother to come in and set the table," Mom said.
Chapter Five
Jake worked on his history assignment while his mom finished dinner. It had been three days since Ms. Bartlett had called on him and that meant that he was probably at the top of her list. He was pretty sure she kept track of who she called on and only deviated from her list when she knew someone had not read their assignment. She was almost psychic about homework, somehow always spotting the slackers. In his opinion, it was better just to do the homework.
Doing his history assignment brought Chad to mind. For whatever reason, Chad had it in for Arthur. He was mean to Arthur every day. Jake would have busted him in the mouth by now, but Arthur seemed to accept that abuse was his lot in life; it just wasn’t right.
Jake was sure that making the team would help Arthur as much as it would help the team. At some point, though, Arthur would have to stand up to Chad and his buddies. Wyatt was meaner than Chad if that was possible, but he didn't understand why Stan, who was a nice guy most of the time, continued to hang out with Chad. Of course, Stan and Chad had been best friends since kindergarten. What was wrong with Chad these days anyway? In the past year, Chad had changed and now no one wanted to be around him, except for Wyatt who was worse. In fact, Charlie told him yesterday that Chad and Wyatt were stealing some of the younger kid's lunch money.
***
"Dinner is ready!" Jake's mom called out. Laid out on the table were all of Cole’s favorite foods. His mom was thrilled that Cole had come home in the middle of the week to have dinner and Jake knew his mom missed Cole more than she let on. He didn't mind, Cole's favorite foods were some of his own favorites as well.
"So, Cole, what’s the occasion?" Dad joked. "You didn’t get thrown out of school, did you?"
"He got homesick," Jake said punching Cole on the shoulder.
"Ow!" Cole said punching Jake back. "Amusing Dad. No, I didn't get thrown out of school. I guess I was a little
